December 5, 2009 (Numbers 12-14)

Yesterday's reading was supposed to more than the one chapter, but there was so much stuff in there, that was all the farther I got. I'll see how today goes. Chapter 12 begins like this:

^{Numbers 12:1} While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. ² They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the Lord heard them. ³ (Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.) ⁴ So immediately the Lord called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle. ⁵ Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. ⁶ And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say:

“If there were prophets among you,
I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions.
I would speak to them in dreams.
⁷ But not with my servant Moses.
Of all my house, he is the one I trust.
⁸ I speak to him face to face,
clearly, and not in riddles!
He sees the Lord as he is.
So why were you not afraid
to criticize my servant Moses?”

⁹ The Lord was very angry with them, and he departed.

The thing that caught my eye was the fact that Moses was more humble than anyone on the earth. Is that why he was able to have such a close relationship with God? I never saw that before, but I think that is the key. Here's the definition of humble:

adjective

1.	not proud or arrogant; modest.

2.	having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.

3.	low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly

4.	courteously respectful

–verb (used with object)

6.	to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase.

7.	to destroy the independence, power, or will of.

8.	to make meek: to humble one's heart.

Go to www.Biblegateway.com and type in the word "humble" under "keyword search". (I use the New Living Translation). So much good stuff there, not the least of which is that Jesus was "humble and gentle of heart". It makes sense. If one is not humble, he is proud. And pride says "I don't need anyone else." God is looking for those who will humbly accept His authority in their lives. So back to the passage - besides that, the lesson here is don't badmouth God's servants. Especially one who talks to God face to face.

Next, God sent them into the promised land, to go explore the land and come back with a report. He sent out twelve men, one from each tribe of Israel. They all came back with reports of how fertile and magnificent the land was, but only two saw it through eyes of faith. The others also saw "giants" in the land and were afraid. Caleb tried to encourage the people and said "Let's go at once. We can certainly conquer it!", but here's what all the people said:

^{Numbers 14:1} Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. ² Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. ³ “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”


Instead of paraphrasing what happens, you'll have to read it for yourself. I know it's a long passage, but you have to read it...hard to believe...


⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. ⁶⁷ They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! ⁸ And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. ⁹ Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing.

¹⁰ But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle.¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? ¹² I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!”

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹³ But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the Lord. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt. ¹⁴ Now if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, Lord, that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷ “Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’ ¹⁹ In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “I will pardon them as you have requested. ²¹ But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, ²² not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. ²³ They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it. ²⁴ But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land. ²⁵ Now turn around, and don’t go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”

The Lord Punishes the Israelites

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁷ “How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. ²⁸ Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. ²⁹ You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. ³⁰ You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

³¹ “‘You said your children would be carried off as plunder. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised. ³² But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness. ³³ And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.

³⁴ “‘Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’ ³⁵ I, the Lord, have spoken! I will certainly do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will be destroyed here in this wilderness, and here they will die!”

³⁶ The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land—the ones who incited rebellion against the Lord with their bad report—³⁷ were struck dead with a plague before the Lord. ³⁸ Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.

³⁹ When Moses reported the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. ⁴⁰ Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us.”

⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the Lord’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work. ⁴² Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you. ⁴³ When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The Lord will abandon you because you have abandoned the Lord.”

⁴⁴ But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant left the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.

Will they never learn??? Even after all of that, they still didn't believe what God had told them. Maybe, if they would have really repented and done what God told them, He would have had mercy and relented from His proclamation. But instead they sealed their fate by showing just how rebellious their hearts really were. So many lessons from this passage.

1. It doesn't matter how big the "giants" of your life are. If God is pleased with you, He will deliver you.
2. God responds to the prayers of His people.
3. If you are loyal to the Lord, He will reward you.
4. God punishes sin.
5. We need God's protection. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you. The Lord will abandon you because you have abandoned the Lord.